Despite a dismal 73-51 loss at Morehead State Saturday, the Panthers had a bright spot.

That bright spot was freshman forward Shaun Pratl, last year’s Chicago Sun-Times Male Athlete of the Year.

Pratl, Eastern’s top recruit, put up 15 points and four assists against the Eagles, particularly the Eagles’ junior forward Kenneth Faried, Morehead’s star player.

“I got to go hard everyday in practice,” Pratl said. “I’m starting to get better and not taking days off from practicing hard. Working with (senior center Ousmane Cisse) has helped me out a lot.”

Coming out of Richards High School, he was heavily recruited from various top schools for football. He was a tight end and had 52 receptions for 1,026 yards and 10 touchdowns in his senior year.

However, he chose the basketball court over the gridiron.

“I’ve been thinking about that as I was watching those college football games and bowl games,” Pratl said. “I was thinking how cool it would be. It would be cool to be playing still.

“I picked basketball because I really love it and it’s easier to get injured in football,” Pratl said. “Me being 6′ 8″, if I got hit in my knee one time, my career could be over.”

The freshman is averaging 6.3 points per game and 3.3 rebounds from the bench, and gradually learning the college game.

“I’ve learned that you cannot take a play off,” Pratl said. “In high school, I could coast or play behind a guy in defense and stuff, but at college, everyone is a Division-I player. You can’t jog down the court and not hustle, and do the little things.”

Cisse experiences foul trouble

Saturday’s conference showdown had Cisse defending Faried, who scouts have touted as an NBA prospect.

Faried was a hard defensive assignment, as Cisse committed a few quick fouls and sat on the bench for 14 of the first 20 minutes.

“It’s not a concern for me,” Cisse said of foul trouble. “That’s the way I play. Sometimes, I don’t know if it is me or if it’s the referee, I just play through it. For me, being aggressive is a part of my game, so being in foul trouble is not a big deal for me because it takes away my aggressiveness.”

Rebounds needed

The team’s leading rebounder with 6.2 rpg, Cisse and the Panthers have struggled rebounding during their three-game road stretch. The Eagles won the battle of the boards 37-24 Saturday.

Eastern was also out-rebounded 42-38 against Murray State last Monday and tied Eastern Kentucky 26-26 Thursday.

“Obviously, it starts with me,” Cisse said. “As a team, we’ve been pretty good defensively. Part of playing defense is rebounding and that starts with me. I haven’t been doing a good job rebounding during the Morehead game.”

He had one rebound during that contest.

Sickness spreads

After Saturday’s game, four coaches and players got sick on the bus ride home.

“Riding back on the bus was quite an experience,” head coach Mike Miller said. “People getting sick. We had to stop the bus and have the bus driver clean (the mess).”

Miller thinks it is possibly food poisoning from the hotels.

“Is it a coincidence that four people got sick within thirty minutes of each other? I don’t know if that is a coincidence,” Miller said. “Hopefully, we are on the backside of it now and everyone is getting healthy.”

Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7944 or rtbajek@eiu.edu.